London 2012 Olympics: Mo Farah wins gold medal in the 10,000 metres final - Telegraph London 2012 London 2012 Olympics: Mo Farah wins gold medal in the 10,000 metres final The Olympic stadium became a cauldron of noise as Mo Farah completed a glorious day for British athletes by becoming the first Briton to win an Olympic 10,000 metres final. Mo Farah celebrates his victory with his daughter Rihanna Champion: Mo Farah, Olympic champion, after crossing the finishing line Photo: ACTION IMAGES Image 1 of 3 Mo Farah received a deafening ovation as he won gold in the 10,000 metres race at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday night Photo: REUTERS London 2012 Olympics: How a love that went the distance took Mo Farah to the gold medal | London Evening Standard Athletics London 2012 Olympics: How a love that went the distance took Mo Farah to the gold medal When Mo Farah triumphed in the 10,000 metres he raced over to embrace his wife at the side of the track.

David Cohen and Simon Freeman tell how her sacrifice and support helped him to Olympic glory Monday 6 August 2012 09:18 BST Click to follow The Evening Standard London 2012 Olympics: How a love that went the distance took Mo Farah to the gold medal London 2012 Olympics: How a love that went the distance took Mo Farah to the gold medal 1/3 'Best moment of my life': Mo Farah and his wife Tania after he won gold in the 10,000m race 2/3 In the lead: Mo Farah looking over his shoulder 3/3 In laws: Tania's parents Rob and Nadia Nell As Mo Farah charged into the history books his wife Tania, heavily pregnant with twins, faced a battle of her own. She had defied doctors orders to watch her husband’s 10,000m race, but leaving her seat in the stands to get down to the track on Saturday, she found her way blocked by a security official who did not believe she was Farah’s wife. “Sorry but you don’t have accreditation, I must ask you to leave,” he said.

But Tania, 28, was not letting anyone bar her way on the biggest night of her life. She stood her ground and caught the eye of a journalist who recognised her, and minutes later she was on the track being bear-hugged by her victorious husband as he wrapped her in a Union Jack and kissed her in front of an 80,000-strong crowd. Farah, 29, said: “Seeing her on the track was the best moment of my life.” It was a fitting tribute to the woman whose love and support has been his foundation as he has relocated to the Kenyan highlands and to Oregon to train with his coach at high-altitude, far away from the west London streets he calls home. But in fact, Tania’s remarkable journey to be at Mo’s side in the cauldron of the Olympic stadium began 16 years ago when they met at school. The story of their passionate love affair, and the crucial part their relationship has played in his success, can be told here for the first time through the eyes of those who know them best.

Mo’s father-in-law, Rob Nell, 60, a travel agent, proudly recalls the day he asked for their daughter’s hand in marriage. “He called us round and said, ‘Can I have the family together?’ The whole family sat around and he asked our permission to marry our daughter. That’s the sort of respectful person he is. His face was brimming ear-to-ear with a big smile when we said, ‘Of course’. ” The pair met at Feltham Community College as teenagers after Mo became friendly with Tania’s older brother, Colin, who was as mad about football as he was. Mo was living with his aunt in Hounslow, having come to London at age eight from war-ravaged Somalia to be closer to his London-born father, Muktar, an IT consultant who was living here. Mo knew very little English, except for the phrase “c’mon then”, which earned him a black eye on his first day of school. Tania’s mother, Nadia Nell, 51, a retired secretary, recalled that the chemistry between them was evident from the start.

“She was a couple of years below him at school, but I think he always liked her and they’d hang out a lot together. Later when Tania got into athletics as well, competing in the heptathlon for her school and her county, they got even closer. After school he went to St Mary’s College in Twickenham and Tania would visit him and they’d watch Prison Break together – they were obsessed with that show. "The two of them went their own way for a while and had other relationships, but they always kept in touch, even when Tania had Rihanna. Mo adored Rihanna from the start and was always there for her. When he and Tania became romantically involved, Tania’s life took off, but they kept it very private and we weren’t told about it for over a year.” Their wedding in April 2010 was a civil ceremony followed by a reception for 120 people at the four-star Richmond Hill Hotel. Mo asked his former PE teacher and mentor, Alan Watkinson to be his best man. Mr Watkinson, 48, said: “I suppose I had become Mo’s father figure.

He didn’t talk about his actual father much and his father wasn’t at his wedding, and when he needed things like visas to travel to athletics meetings outside the UK, I arranged it for him The wedding was an incredibly joyous occasion.” But Tania would soon be asked to make life-changing personal sacrifices, moving from their house in Hampton Hill to a remote Kenyan village, and later to Portland, Oregon, as their lives were taken over by his gruelling 120-mile-a-week training at altitude routine. “It wasn’t easy for Tania, being away from parents and friends,” said Mr Watkinson. “I think it helped that she knew what she was marrying into. And because she had been an athlete herself, she could buy into his dream of being the best long-distance runner in the world.” But Mrs Nell disagreed. “I don’t think Tania expected it at all when she married Mo, but she learned quickly there were sacrifices to be made for his success. She seemed to adjust pretty quickly after the initial shock and always put Mo and his training first. “She’s given up her life to support him, no question. They have been based in Portland for over a year since Mo’s coach Alberto Salazar has his elite training group there.

The idea was to move up a few gears after the disaster in Beijing when he didn’t even make the final. But because they are such a tight-knit family, they are coping well. Rihanna’s getting on well at school in America, and Tania’s made a lot of friends in Portland. They are one unit, and wherever he goes they go, but we miss terribly not having them nearby.” Incredibly, the Nells had to watch his gold-winning performance from their living room. Mrs Nell said: “I was trying online and couldn’t get through. It was going to cost £400 for the finals and that was too expensive for us. Mo only got issued two tickets and we didn’t want to hassle him for more, so we stayed home to watch it. I was screaming at the television and in tears at the end.” Mr Watkinson had bagged a seat in the lottery and was inside the stadium near the long jump pit. “I don’t think I have been more nervous in my life,” he said. “Seeing Mo run, it was the culmination of a story that started with the PE lesson of a raw and talented 11-year-old and which ended with a gold medal in the London Olympics.

To have had a hand in convincing Mo to take up running and then watching him win gold at the Games is incredible. I was jumping like a kid and screaming “Go on Mo!” tears running down my cheeks.” So did Farah’s parents watch their son’s moment of glory? “To be honest,” said Mrs Nell, “we don’t know because although he talks to his mum in Somalia on the phone almost every day, and he really looks up to his father, he’s very private about them. We’ve never met his parents. He went back to Somalia a year ago to see his mum and he’s got an identical twin brother and other siblings who we don’t know.” Since the drama of the weekend, Tania has been ordered by her doctors to stay at home and rest. They are concerned, she told her parents, that all the excitement could bring on the twins, due in September, a few weeks early. That, of course, could be tricky, they acknowledge, as dad still has business to attend to: the men’s 5,000m first round is on Wednesday, the finals on Saturday. Farah is already the first Brit to win the 10,000m.

Is it possible that he could blow the nation’s fuse and kick past the world-beating Kenyans and Ethiopians to win the 5,000m as well? More about: Mo Farah wins men's 5,000m to claim second Olympic gold - BBC Sport BBC Sport Mo Farah wins men's 5,000m to claim second Olympic gold By Tom Fordyce BBC chief sports writer at the Olympic Stadium 11 Aug 2012 Media playback is not supported on this device Farah seals second gold with 5,000m Mo Farah joined the sporting greats and produced an unforgettable crescendo to London's Olympics as he added 5,000m gold to his 10,000m title. The 29-year-old Briton went to the front at 600m and was roared down the home straight and into the history books. Media playback is not supported on this device Mo Farah delights in double Olympic gold Farah's gold was Great Britain's 27th of these Games and was greeted with a noise that could scarcely be believed inside the Olympic Stadium.

He produced a last mile of four minutes 00.50 seconds and a final lap of 52.9 secs to hold off Ethiopia's Dejen Gebremeskel and Kenya's Thomas Longosiwa in 13 mins 41.66 secs. It was not a fast race, but big finals seldom are and Farah got his tactics spot on. Farah, whose wife Tania is due to give birth to twins in the next few weeks, said: "It's unbelievable. I was feeling tired coming into the race. When I took the lead, I knew I had to hold on to it. "Those two medals are for my two girls. They can have one each. I don't know what's going on. Everything has a time and it's all worked out. Two gold medals... who would have thought it?" A week ago, his stunning victory in the 10,000m final had provided a wonderful final act to "Super Saturday".

Mo Farah joins the greats Mo Farah is the seventh man to win 5,000m and 10,000m gold at the same Olympics: 2008 - Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia) 1972 & 1976 - Lasse Viren (Finland) 1956 - Vladimir Kuts (Soviet Union) 1952 - Emil Zatopek (Czechoslovakia) 1912 - Hannes Kolehmainen (Finland) This was always going to be a tougher contest still. Going into the race, he was ranked only 11th in the world on season's bests, while seven men who lined up had quicker personal bests. But Farah had shown in winning 5,000m gold at the World Championships in Daegu that he could run a brutal 10,000m and recover sufficiently within a short period of time to take on the world's best again. As he came out on to the track, Farah triggered a deafening standing ovation from the capacity home crowd.

When he was announced to the crowd, it was as if gold had already been won, thousands waving union jacks and bouncing up and down. Every section he passed on every lap roared as if he were on the final straight. The early pace was pedestrian, the first five laps all 70 seconds or slower. Only when Gebremeskel went to the front with five laps to go did the pace pick up with a 60-second lap. Media playback is not supported on this device Usain Bolt on why he and Mo Farah traded celebrations The noise was immense, Farah slotting in behind the Ethiopian in second with 1000m to go. He pushed on to the front with a lap and a half left and was joined by his training partner Galen Rupp of the United States. Farah then went hard again at the bell and down the back straight to open a metre lead he would never relinquish. Britain had never before won a men's long distance gold at the Olympics.

Farah now has two in the space of one remarkable week and joins greats like Emil Zatopek and Lasse Viren, who also won 5,000m and 10,000m gold at the same Games. Final Results London 2012 Olympics: Mo Farah storms to second gold in a week - Telegraph Olympics News London 2012 Olympics: Mo Farah storms to second gold in a week Mo Farah has won the 5,000 metres final of the London 2101 Olympics, exactly seven days after taking gold in the 10,000 metres. Double champion: Mo Farah celebrates a thrilling victory in the men's 5,000m Photo: REUTERS The double victory earns Farah – who came to the UK at the age of eight with only a few words of English – a place among Britain’s greatest athletes. No British man has ever won both the 5,000m and 10,000m before.

In front of 80,00 delirious fans, who again turned the Olympic Stadium into a cauldron of deafening noise, Farah took the lead with 700 metres to go and never let up, crossing the finishing line with his arms outstretched, his eyes wide open with delight. He then fell to his knees in prayer while up in the stands his daughter Rihanna leapt up and down with delight. Farah then ran to group of his supporters at the side of the track and grabbed a union flag, holding it above his head and beaming for the cameras. Related Articles London 2012 Olympics have given us a glimpse of the country we can be 11 Aug 2012 At one stage he dropped to the ground and did a series of sit-ups, in an apparent tribute to Usain Bolt, who had celebrated his 200m victory by doing press ups. Farah's joy at winning a second gold was clearly written on his face as he completed a lap of honour while making his now famous M for Mo hand gesture on his head. He then ran to hug Rihanna and his wife Tania, who had by now come down to the edge of the crowd.

Speaking immediately after his victory Farah said: "It's unbelievable. I am just amazed - two gold medals, who would have thought that? "I din't feel so good in the heat. The support of the crowd really helped me in the straight. It means a lot to me." He said the victory meant he could give a gold medal to each of the twin daughters his wife is expecting, saying: "Those two medals are to my two girls that are coming. They could arrive any day. "The noise was unbelievable. I just want to thank everyone who supported me, including all my coaches but particularly my wife who is carrying twins. "It's been a long journey of hard work and grafting, but It all worked out well." In the moment of his greatest triumph he also thought to mention the auction being held on September 1 for his charity The Mo Farah Foundation, which provides aid to east Africa.Shortly before the start of the race Farah, 29, a practicing Muslim, gave a short prayer.

London 2012 chairman Lord Coe, a two-time Olympic 1500m champion, said: "Mo Farah - a distance running great and arguably the best British runner of all time." After the win Britain's marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe, a friend of Farah's, tweeted an advert featuring his legs in full stride and the words: "Twice the guts. Double the glory." For the early stages of the race Farah stayed at the back of the pack, keeping out of trouble before moving round to the front after two laps. The front runners responded, quickening their pace to take the lead, and forcing him back into the middle of the group. With five laps to go Farah found himself boxed in as the Kenyans, Ethiopians and Americans piled on the pressure, forcing him to kick out and regain touching distance of the leaders before taking the lead and storming to another gold medal, Britains 27th of the Games. Farah is now one of only six men have managed to the 5,000m and 10,000m Olympic double.

The others are Hannes Kolehmainen, one of the original flying Finns, Czech Emil Zatopek, the Soviet Vladimir Kuts, Finland's Lasse Viren - managed the double in both 1972 and 1976 - and Ethioipia's Kenenisa Bekele. After winning the 10,000m last week Farah declared it to be the “best moment of my life”, stating in response to a question about where his loyalties lie: “Look mate, this is my country. This is where I grew up, this is where I started life. This is my country and when I put on my Great Britain vest I’m proud. I’m very proud.” But that pride was also being felt in Farah’s native Somalia, where his mother Amran and eldest brother Faisal gathered on Saturday night with friends and relatives in the village of Wajale – the nearest settlement with electricity. Following Farah’s 10,000m victory Faisal, 37, a farmer, said: “When he won I exploded like a bomb. I ran out in the streets shouting. There were a lot of people delighted and cheering.

I celebrated and gave people gifts of khat [a bitter leaf] and meat.” Mo and Faisal’s London-born father, Muktar, was a businessmen in Mogadishu and the family lived in a substantial stone house. But when Somalia became riven by civil war Amran, Faisal and Mo moved to neighbouring Djibouti, while Mr Farah Snr returned to London. Mo followed him a short while later and joined his extended family in Hounslow. Faisal said: “of course I miss my brother, but he communicates by phone day and night. When he comes back each year, we share a lot of stories. My mother doesn’t want to go there [London]. She doesn’t like the city.” Farah’s two gold medals are proof of how far he has come since arriving in Britain able to say only “excuse me”, “where is the toilet?” and the frequently misinterpreted “C’mon then” – a phrase innocently taught him by his father which would however provoke fights with other boys. There was a period in the childhood of the future Olympic champion when he could, in the words of his agent Ricky Simms, “have gone off the rails”.

Farah’s antics included jumping naked into the River Thames from Kingston Bridge for a bet after a night out, and dangling from the goalposts during what should have been a strictly supervised school javelin lesson. Mr Watkinson, 47, the PE teacher who first spotted Farah’s athletic potential, said: “He used to get into trouble, and running calmed him down very quickly. It gave him a focus, as well as gaining the respect of his peers.” Farah attended Oriel Junior School, in the west London suburb of Hanworth, before moving to Feltham Community College, a tough school where Farah, one of the few black faces, had to learn to hold his own. Mr Watkinson said: “When I first met him, he was struggling academically and suffering from the language barrier. He desperately wanted to fit in and be one of the gang and some of the kids at school took advantage of that and got him to do silly things, like swearing at people.

“On top of that he was always very competitive and wouldn’t back down in a challenge, so he got into a few fights.” Farah’s passion was football and his ambition was to play for Arsenal, but it was his turn of speed that showed his real talent. Mr Watkinson took him to a cross-country championship. Farah initially ran in the wrong direction, but still managed to finish second. After leaving school the prospective Olympian worked in a fast-food restaurant then a sports shop. But a £10,000 National Lottery grant enabled him to take up running full time, while a gesture of personal generosity by Paula Radcliffe paid for his driving lessons. He now cites her as his idol, alongside Muhammad Ali. As his career developed – he won his first major title, the 5,000 metres, at the European Junior Championships in Grosseto, Italy, in 2001 aged 18 – he began training at St Mary’s University College, near Twickenham, becoming one of the first two athletes at its newly formed Endurance Performance Centre.

In later years Sir Eddie Kulukundis, the millionaire impresario and benefactor of British athletics, paid the legal costs of his naturalisation as a British citizen to ensure he could pursue his international career. In 2009 he set a new British indoor record in the 3,000 metres. A spell of training in Africa was followed by the 2010 European championships in Barcelona, where he took gold in the 10,000 metres, his first major title. The same year he married Tania Nell, 26, his childhood friend, in Richmond. In February last year Farah moved to Oregon, USA, to train with his new coach, Alberto Salazar, and later that month broke the European indoor 5,000m record with a time of 13:10.60, followed by the New York half marathon with a new British record of 1:00:23. When he first began to find success as a junior runner Farah repaid the faith placed in him by his family by always sending a proportion of his race prize money back to his mother Amran in Somalia.

In recognition of his roots, and the hardships faced by Somalia and Djibouti, he launched the Mo Farah Foundation to raise money for those afflicted by the worst drought in the Horn of Africa for 60 years. Edna Adan Ismail, the former prime minister of the Somalian district of Somaliland, from where Farah’s family originates, said: “Although [Mo] ran for Britain he is one of ours and his achievements can only make us proud.” Mo Farah wins gold in 5000m at London 2012 Olympics | Daily Mail Online MEDALS TABLE On a night touched by magic, in a stadium shuddering with noise, Mo Farah joined the ranks of the immortals. With a stunning exhibition of pace, judgment and implacable courage, he overcame the world’s finest middle-distance runners to deliver his Olympic dream. One week ago, he gave his proudly adopted country the 10,000metres gold medal. On Saturday night, he secured his place in the pantheon by winning the 5,000m crown. Few have ever exerted that kind of domination over the greatest athletes on the planet. No Briton has ever gone close.

But the man born in Somalia and raised in west London has set his own standards and written his own script in these astonishing Olympics. He is 29 years old, at the peak of his powers and won his race with an assurance which reeked of maturity. He covered all the breaks, resisted extravagant changes of pace, matched his talent against the machinations of the gifted Kenyans and Ethiopians and kicked for home with the ferocious tenacity which has typified his career. He's done it! Farah wins the men's 5,000m final Make mine a double: Farah celebrates as he crosses the line Sprint finish: Farah crosses the line On top of the world: Farah celebrates his win Mo-bot: Farah celebrates in his trademark fashion Solid gold: Farah celebrates winning his second gold medal of London 2012 Trading places: Farah celebrates with Usain Bolt's trademark Lightening Strike while the Jamaican sprinter copies the Brit's Mo-Bot celebration Just five men It was the stuff of dreams; fluent, assertive, irresistible. The kind of run which the great ones plan to perfection. He had emerged to a clamorous ovation, the kind which accentuates expectations.

Yet he betrayed not a hint of pressure. After loitering at the back of the field through a funereal opening 1,000m, he moved through the field as the pace grew more brisk. His reputation precedes him and we could sense the rest of the field glancing across at him, suspecting his intentions. He did not conceal them for long. Going into the second kilometre, he made his move and arrived at the front. The noise battered the ears as the stadium reacted with screeching support, but Mo was the coolest man in Stratford. Five laps remained when the Ethiopians took it on, running hard. Four were left when Mo rejoined the argument, answering the pace in kind. With three to go, he was in third place and a genuine factor. And then the plot unfolded. With the pace lifting to agonising levels, with 700 metres still to cover, Mo hit the front.

Golden moment: Farah kisses the track after winning his second gold medal In a league of his own: Farah won the 5,000m to add to add to his 10,000m crown Everyone wants an piece of him: Farah celebrates with the mascot Wenlock Fan club: Farah celebrates with his wife Tania and Rhianna Beautifully balanced, free from stress, showing not a trace of weariness from last Saturday’s 10,000m, he began to inflict real pain on the pursuers. The noise became unbearable, the tension relentless. The crowd of 80,000 were on their feet, pleading for his success, bellowing him home. If he heard, then his running gave no sign. When he is moving well, there is something metronomic about his stride. And in those closing stages he was moving extremely swiftly. Kenya’s Thomas Longosiwa made his effort and was rebuffed. Then, more menacingly, Dejen Gebremeskel of Ethiopia attacked off the final bend. For a few strides, it seemed that his pace might prevail, but Mo’s reaction mocked our fears.

Imperceptibly, he lengthened his stride, breaking the challenge with a dozen metres. Looking nervous: David Beckham and Boris Johnson and Sir Menzies Campbell cheer on Farah Getting exciting: Beckham and Johnson watch Farah close in on victory He's done it: Beckham and Johnson celebrate as Farah crosses the line And then he was free, driving to the line, pausing to paw at his face, then doing that daft little thing he does with his hands bouncing against his head. The faint air of apprehension was gone, replaced with an ecstatic smile. He knew how much it had cost him, he knew just how much it meant; to himself, to his family, to the Games and to the nation. A wonderful bedlam reigned in the Olympic stadium. On the last night of competition, we had found our most enduring memory. Giving it everything: Farah shows the effort he put in to win gold Getting his tactics right: Farah ran the perfect race Keeping an eye on his rivals: Farah was in control of the race He sought out his pregnant wife at trackside, he clothed himself in the Union Flag, he even posed for pictures with importunate fans.

It was a dignified lap of honour and his immediate reactions were equally impressive. ‘It’s unbelievable’, he said. ‘I didn’t feel so good in my heat and I thought the other runners would do something to get rid of me, but they didn’t, so that worked out. The American tried to come past me at one point but I didn’t let him. I just knew I couldn’t let anyone past me. ‘I’d just like to thank my wife, she’s carrying twins and I didn’t want to know anything about it if it happened in the run-up, but that has worked out. They could arrive any moment. Everything has its time and this has worked out for me. I’ve got two gold medals, who would have thought it? No way through: Farah keeps his place at the front ‘I’ve grafted and grafted to get here and it’s just hard work. To anyone out there, all it takes is hard work. ‘I just want to thank everyone who has supported me. All my coaches down the years and everyone who has helped me get here.’ It was elegant, sincere and deeply moving; just the way the great ones ought to behave.

And Mo Farah, double Olympic champion at the Games of London, knows that his place among those great ones is now unassailable. Running on his turf: Farah is cheered home by 80,000 fans inside the Olympic Stadium MO FARAH FACTFILE 1983: March 23 - Born in Mogadishu, Somalia. He would arrive in Britain as a refugee at the age of eight. 2001: Wins first major title by winning the 5,000 metres at the European Junior Athletics Championships in Athens. 2006: Wins silver in the 5,000m at the European Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden. Wins the European Cross Country Championship in December of the same year. 2007: Finishes sixth in the 5,000m at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan. 2008: Fails to reach the final of the 5,000m at the Beijing Olympics. 2009: Breaks the British 3,000m record twice in a matter of weeks early in the year and goes on to take gold in the same event at the European Indoor Championships.

Finishes seventh in the 5,000m at the World Championships in Berlin, the top European. 2010: July 27 - Wins the 10,000m at the European Championships in Barcelona. July 31 - Completes a distance running double by claiming gold in the 5,000m. August 19 - At a Diamond League meeting in Zurich, sets a new British record with a time of 12:57.94 in the 5,000m. 2011: February - Announces he is relocating to Portland, Oregon, to train under Alberto Salazar. February 19 - Sets a British indoor record with a time of 13:10.60 in the 5,000m at Birmingham. March 5 - Wins gold in the 3,000m at the European Indoor Championships. March 20 - Wins the NYC Half Marathon with a time of one hour 23 seconds after entering late when a planned 10,000m event in New Zealand was cancelled due to earthquake damage.

June 3 - Sets a new British and European record of 26:46.57 to win the 10,000m at a Diamond League meeting in Eugene. July 22 - Sets a British record of 12:53.11 in the 5,000m at a Diamond League meeting in Monaco. August 28 - Wins 10,000m silver at the World Championships in Daegu. September 4 - Wins 5,000m gold at the World Championships in Daegu. 2012: March 11 - Misses out on a medal in the 3,000m at the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul, finishing fourth. June 2 - Runs fastest 5,000m of the year, clocking 12:56.98 to win the Diamond League race in Eugene, beating Olympic champion and world record holder Kenenisa Bekele. June 27 - Becomes the first man to retain the 5,000m title at the European Championships by winning gold in Helsinki.

August 4 - Wins the 10,000m Olympic title at London 2012. August 11 - Adds the 5,000m title for a second London 2012 gold. Mo Farah powers to a sensational 10,000m Olympic gold for Britain | Sport | The Guardian Mo Farah powers to a sensational 10,000m Olympic gold for Britain • Mo Farah wins Britain's third athletics gold of the night • Runner seals Team GB's first ever gold at 10,000m Saturday 4 August 2012 16.58 EDT First published on Saturday 4 August 2012 16.58 EDT Close This article is 4 years old Massive Attack's Unfinished Sympathy was the song being drowned out by the roar of the crowd as Mo Farah surged down the back straight and into the record books as the first homegrown winner of an Olympic 10,000m final. But for this proud Londoner, Adele's Hometown Glory might have been more appropriate.

Having charged to victory with a majestically timed final burst after 24 controlled laps of this already famous London track, Farah said: "I was in shock, in tears, the whole lot. I didn't know what was going on. This is the greatest day of my life, it doesn't get any better than that. "It was amazing. My legs were getting tired and I had to dig in. The crowd gave me that bit of a boost." It was a victory born in Mogadishu, hewn on the streets of west London, honed at high altitude training camps in Kenya and plotted in Portland, Oregon, where Farah has worked for the past 18 months with the maverick Cuba-born coach Alberto Salazar. Farah drew deep on the depths of his disappointment four years ago, when he failed to win a medal in Beijing, after which he vowed to do "whatever it takes" to win Olympic gold. He resolved to train at the same high altitude camps used by his Kenyan opponents and submitted to a punishing 120-mile a week training regime.

An African runner has won every Olympic 10,000m since Los Angeles in 1984 – a run now broken by Farah on a magical night for British athletics that just got better and better. The magnitude of his achievement is underlined by the fact that a British runner has never won a 10,000m or 5,000m in the 100 years they have been included in the Games. With the stadium still in disbelieving raptures from the heroics of Jessica Ennis and Greg Rutherford, Farah took to the track to huge cheers knowing that at least a dozen of the 29-strong field were capable of mounting a serious challenge. Ennis had only just finished her lap of honour and Rutherford's final jump took place during the opening laps of his race. Kenenisa Bekele, the great Ethiopian and reigning Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion, led from the front at the start, though the Kenyans Wilson Kiprop and Daniele Meucci soon took over.

The race was a messy one, with a 61-second lap followed by a 65-second one, which suited Farah fine. When first the Eritreans Zersenay Tadese and Nguse Tesfaldet and then the Kenyans Moses Masai and Bedan Karoki Muchiri hit the front, he did not panic. He and his American training partner Galen Rupp between them dealt with each surge as it came – staying in the pack and out of trouble. With five laps left Farah slipped into third behind Masai and Tariku Bekele, brother of Kenenisa. The third Ethiopian in the race, Gebregziabher Gebremariam, then hit the front. But still the 29-year-old Farah did not waver and sat in second, ready to strike, with two laps left. The tension rose as the leading pack jostled for position. As the volume rose, Farah hit the front with 500m to go and just did not stop, winning in 27:30:42. His American friend and training partner Rupp finished second. Farah could not have scripted it better.

He said: "It would have been nice if it was slower. They made me work hard for it. When I saw two Ethiopian guys come to the front I wondered what was going on. But me and Galen stayed patient and worked our way through it." Joining up with Salazar, and splitting with his long-time coach Alan Storey, in 2011 turbocharged an already impressive career. Commuting back and forth across the Atlantic has taken its toll but paid off in spades, first with gold and silver in Daegu and now the 10,000m Olympic title. "I just can't believe it. I've never experienced anything like this. This is the best moment of my life, something I've worked so hard for," Farah said. "What you put into it is what you get out of it. I want to thank everyone who supported me from now to my childhood." Farah unequivocally announced his arrival as one of the very best in the world in Daegu last summer, when he narrowly missed out on gold in the 10,000m and won the 5,000m.

But that alerted his African opponents to his prowess and they have spent the time since trying to work him out. Farah, who was born in Somalia but moved to Britain when he was eight, has known that his card was marked since that world championship success. Having arrived in the athletes' village three days earlier from the UK Athletics high altitude camp in the French Pyrenees, he sought out Rupp on Friday night. Together they watched Tirunesh Dibaba win the women's 10,000m by staying out of trouble and striking at the end of the race. By the same time the following night, a beaming Farah was walking round the edge of the track, clad in a union flag and cavorting with an outsized mascot as they both celebrated executing their pre-race plan to perfection. Salazar said: "The race plan for Mo and Galen was that we felt they could outsprint anyone in that race and that we didn't care if it was a fast or slow pace.

They weren't going to try and win it until the last 400m, maybe last 200m, and it was a very simple plan." BBC Sport - London 2012 Olympics - Mo Farah : Great Britain & N. Ireland, Athletics Great Britain & N. Ireland A week ago he won gold in the 10,000 metres in a very successful night for Great Britain which has become known as Super Saturday. 16 Jan 13 Men's 10,000m 16 Jan 13 Team GB's Mo Farah received a standing ovation from a packed Olympic Stadium as he was presented with his gold medal - a day after his stunning victory in the 10,000m. Men's 10,000m 26 Sep 12 Fresh from the amazing summer that saw Mo Farah become a double Olympic gold medallist, the athlete returns to his old school in Feltham to answer questions from School Reporters.

More Mo Farah stories (10) Men's 5000m Round 1, Heat 1 3 Mo Farah vs Nick Mccormick Select a different athlete to compare Mo Farah Show me: countries or athletes medal table Total Medals by Athlete All Athletes from Team GB Team GB Learn more about the athletes representing Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the 2012 Olympic Games, and catch up on the latest news and gossip surrounding Team GB Copyright © 2017 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.

Question: On which day of the week did Mo Farah win both of his gold medals at the 2012 Olympics?
Answer: Saturday